CITATION NR: 9816987
DECISION DATE: 06/02/98 ARCHIVE DATE: 06/15/98
DOCKET NO. 96-38 712 ) DATE
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office and Insurance
Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to the proceeds of the veteran’s National Service
Life Insurance (NSLI) policy, J [redacted].
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans
Appellees represented by: Yvon Renaud, Attorney
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
R. L. Shaw, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active military service from September 1942
to January 1946 and from March 1954 to March 1956. He died
on July 8, 1993
This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board)
on appeal from a determination of the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Regional Office and Insurance Center (RO&IC) in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania regarding the disposition of the
proceeds of the deceased veteran’s NSLI policy. The appeal
arises from a contested claim within the meaning of 38 C.F.R.
§§ 20.500 through 20.504 (1997) involving separarte
applications by the veteran’s son, the appellant, and a
friend of the veteran and her son, the appellees.
REMAND
A hearing scheduled for May 28, 1998, be fore a member of the
Board in Washington, D.C., was cancelled at the veteran’s
request because of surgery. The veteran has indicated that
he still wants a hearing before the Board but prefers that it
be held at the VA Regional Office in Milwaulee, Wisconsin.
The record must therefore be forwarded to that office so that
a Travel Board hearing can be scheduled.
Accordingly, the case is remanded to the RO for the following
action:
The RO should take appropriate steps to
schedule the veteran for a hearing at the
RO before a traveling member of the
Board.
After the hearing, the claim should be returned to the Board
for appellate review in accordance with the usual procedures.
No action is required of the veteran until he receives
further notice.
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO.
The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the
Board of Veterans’ Appeals or by the United States Court of
Veterans Appeals for additional development or other
appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner.
See The Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1994, Pub. L.
No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994), 38 U.S.C.A.
§ 5101 (West Supp. 1998) (Historical and Statutory Notes).
In addition, VBA’s ADJUDICATION PROCEDURE MANUAL, M21-1, Part
IV, directs the ROs to provide expeditious handling of all
cases that have been remanded by the Board and the Court.
See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-8.45 and 38.02-38.03.
G. H. SHUFELT
Member, Board of Veterans’ Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans’ Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals. This remand is in the nature of a
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the
Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b)
(1997).
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